In New Zealand, we love animals and we value our natural environment.
Most Kiwis imagine the cattle raised for beef grazing on lush, green pastures, but sadly this isn’t the reality in New Zealand. Tucked away out of sight cattle are kept in barren, grassless pens known as feedlots.
Shocking footage obtained by a Farmwatch drone shows us the dirty secret the New Zealand beef industry wants to keep hidden.
Feedlots are used to fatten cattle raised for beef before they are sent for slaughter. Cattle raised on pasture are sent to feedlots to spend the last few months of their lives.
Once in a feedlot, the cattle are unable to graze and instead are fed a diet of grains.
The unnatural diet of grains is no substitute for the fresh grass the cattle were used to and they can suffer from bloating, diarrhoea and digestive discomfort.
The crowded, barren pens provide no shelter, and cattle are left exposed to New Zealand’s harsh weather. This is a breach of the Animal Welfare Act 1999, which states that animals should have adequate shelter.
The increasing number of feedlots in New Zealand is having devastating effects on our once pristine environment. Fertile land that could be used for crops is being turned into barren wastelands, and there are concerns from freshwater ecologists about the contamination of freshwater close to feedlots.
Right now, throughout Aotearoa, thousands of newborn calves are being taken from their mothers, trucked off in the cold, and killed. Branded as disposable by-products of the dairy industry, they are fragile, voiceless, and deserve so much more.
Your compassion today can create a future where every animal is valued.
